Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

The Beatitudes #3:“The Promise of an Inheritance”

Rev. Meagan M. Boozer

Matthew 5:1-5
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

Each week of this series of sermons based on Jesus’ words called the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, I think I need to have a very brief review of what has come before. So, here goes:

After gathering together his band of disciples, Jesus went up to a high place so that he could teach the growing crowds that began to follow him. When he found the right spot, he sat down, as any legitimate Jewish teacher would, and he began to preach the most important sermon ever preached in the history of Christianity – what we know as the Sermon on the Mount.

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

To be poor in spirit is to reject an attitude of self-praise, self-justification, and self-satisfaction. The poor in spirit are not the proud in spirit. The poor in spirit know that in themselves – in all people in fact – there are no spiritual assets. The poor in spirit know their need for God is the greatest need in their lives. They understand that apart from Christ their own spirits are useless, lifeless, and completely without purpose. The ones who are poor in spirit are the ones who know that they are the richest people alive because Christ dwells within them.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Jesus is talking about people who grieve in a specific way. Jesus is talking about people who grieve to the point of action. Jesus understands loss more than we will ever understand loss. And yet, as Christians, we are not given the option of self-serving, self-directed, self-absorbed grief in our losses.

Jesus tells us that those who dare to grieve with an eye beyond themselves and their own pain, will be comforted. Those who look at the state of the world and do a whole lot more than just shake their heads and say, “what a mess,” those who are moved to action by the grievous conditions in which people are found to live, are those who will be comforted.

Watch out for the poor in spirit. Watch out for the mourners. They have such divine peace and purpose, they have incredible favor from God, and they carry a confidence in Christ that makes them unstoppable. Mother Teresa, was such a prime example of what it looks like to be poor in spirit. She was unstoppable. Martin Luther King, Jr., was such a prime example of what it looks like to be a true mourner. He mourned racial injustice. He mourned it – and he was truly a change agent for racial equality in our country.

So what about the meek? Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Some would use these words as synonyms for meek: “weak,” “harmless,” “spiritless.” Put the word “meek” on a resume to describe yourself, and you probably won’t get the job. A meek person is thought of as something of a doormat upon which others wipe their feet, a timid soul who lives in fear of offending others. “Oh, that’s okay. Go ahead, don’t mind me, I’m just nothing but a little meek mouse here in the corner.” Is this Jesus’ definition of meek?

Guess who in the Bible was described as meek, using the very same word Jesus uses here in this beatitude. Let’s turn to Numbers 12:3, “Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth.” That’s the NRSV translation. The English Standard Version uses the right word. “Now the man Moses was meek, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth.” Moses. Meek? The same guy who stood up to Pharoah, who led the Israelites out of Egypt, who raised his staff and the Red Sea parted, who led the whole nation through the wilderness, who stood on Mt. Sinai amid fire, smoke, and clouds and received the revelation of the Ten Commandments, who got so angry he threw the stone tablets down the first time and had to repeat the whole thing again? Meek? Moses the meek. Hmmm…

Now let’s turn to Matthew 11:29, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Again, you don’t hear the word “meek” in there, but the word translated, “gentle,” is the very same word used to describe Moses, and the very same word Jesus is using in this 3rd Beatitude, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

A few weeks ago when we started this series, I asked if you thought of Jesus as someone who was famous? The Word tells us that his fame spread – so he was famous.

Now I ask, do you think of Jesus as someone who was meek, using the definition we tend to use for this word? Do you think of Jesus as being timid, afraid of offending people, weak, and available to be used as a doormat? Oh – I don’t think this describes Jesus at all. I think our usual definition of meek needs an extreme makeover.

Biblically, to be meek means to get out of the way so that people can catch a passing glimpse of the God you love. To be meek means to be kind. The meek are able to receive direction – but let’s be clear: The meek are not those who cave in to every whim of society, who let themselves be trampled by their boss, or who endure cruel verbal, physical, or emotional abuse. Jesus’ call to meekness is a call to be meek toward God, being directable by God so that God can use us. The meek will not listen to anyone, no matter what the person’s power, position, or influence, if that person tries to make them compromise or disobey their Master’s voice.

When the apostle Peter and the other apostles stood before the council and the high priest after they had been arrested for preaching about the crucifixion of Jesus (Acts 5), Peter said with meekness, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” Now, let’s see what happens next: “When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. Then he said to them, “Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared. After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God.”

That, right there, is the key to the power of the meek. The truly meek surrender their will to God so completely that God’s will becomes their will. It doesn’t just happen; it is a conscious choice. Whoever fights against the one who is meek before God, is fighting against God, for it is the person who is surrendered to God that God uses to release His power upon the earth. The meek become God’s workhorses. Oh yes. The meek are God’s workhorses. You cannot stop them, and that is why they inherit the earth. “Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.” The meek pray constantly: Bring it on, Lord – bring your will forth in me, through me, around me, use me, so that the people you put around me can catch a passing glimpse of Your goodness, Your love, Your glory, Your majesty, Your awesome power, Your love, Your love, Your love that makes all things not just bearable, but Your love that makes all things beautiful.

· Do you like to be the center of attention?

· Are you quick to express your opinions?

· Do you seek revenge?

· Do you seek to be superior to others?

· Do you expect others to serve you? Have you come here today to be served, or to serve?

In Psalm 37 we read:

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.”

What would it be like to truly wait upon the Lord instead of just doing what we want for ourselves, or just blurting something out that we want to say? I’ll tell you an amazing example that God gave me as a gift on Friday morning when I went to the hospital to check on Jim & Norman.

I was tired, and so I wanted to walk the shortest distance possible. I went to the parking deck to try to find a spot – which is hard between 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Parking is very limited there. Well, just as I pulled onto the deck, in the very first row a car started pulling out. There were no other cars around. That spot was my spot. I turned to the left to wait while the car pulled away, and just as they were completing their maneuver, around the corner coming the other way was an SUV who also wanted that spot. Well, I don’t like to admit it, but usually I would have pulled in. Clearly, I was there first. The spot was mine. But I had just been studying about meekness. Should I assert myself here, or not? The answer in my heart was, “let the other person pull in. You don’t really need that spot.” And so that’s what I did. I then had to back up just a little to go towards the back of the deck to see if there were any empty spots there. Once I started moving forward, all of a sudden a woman comes walking right towards my car. I thought, “Oh, I wonder what she sees. Is something wrong with my car?” I put my window down and she said, “There’s a spot on the very back row – third place in – just for you.” I was almost speechless. What? A personal invitation to a parking spot? Wow.

Now, here’s what I think. I think God ordained that to happen because he wanted us (not just me) to know this truth: Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. I was obedient. I was meek, allowing God’s direction, and not my selfishness to assert itself - and I got a little piece of the earth for my car. I must tell you, I walked around the rest of the day with a greater sense of God’s presence than I had when I got up that day. It was very conducive to inward peace and confidence in God. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

What could we accomplish together here and in Honduras if we were completely yielded to the reigns of the Master, allowing Him to guide our every step, our every conversation, our every prayer, our every decision? What could we accomplish together? Which leads me to the final piece of this teaching today:

The word translated “meek” is not in the singular tense right here in Matthew 5:5. The word translated “meek” is in the plural. This is purposeful, of course, because everything Jesus said, and everything written here is given to us for a purpose.

Jesus uses the plural, suggesting to us that there is a community, a sense of belonging among the truly meek. You know one when you’re with one, and when you’re with them, you are at peace. You don’t feel threatened. You feel safe.

The meek inherit the earth as a family, because that’s the way the meek are. They do not advance their own agendas because together, all they care about is advancing God’s agenda. They do not try to overshadow or outdo another, because it is God they are trying to exalt, not themselves. The meek don’t need to compare or make corrections or distinctions that divide people from one another because the meek are assured of their own inheritance with Christ. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. They are God’s instruments, being played for the greatest glory.

Now, I’m going to let my dad and Roy Ingram finish this sermon for us today with his reading of the classic poem, The Touch of the Master’s Hand.

The Touch of the Master’s Hand
It was battered and scarred,

And the auctioneer thought it

Hardly worth his while

To waste his time on the old violin,

But he held it up with a smile.

"What am I bid, good people", he cried,

"Who starts the bidding for me?"

"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"

"Two dollars, who makes it three?"

"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three",

But, No, From the room far back a grey haired man

Came forward and picked up the bow,

Then wiping the dust from the old violin

And tightening up the strings,

He played a melody, pure and sweet,

As sweet as the angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer

With a voice that was quiet and low,

Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"

As he held it aloft with its' bow.

"One thousand, one thousand,

Do I hear two?"

"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"

"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,

Going and gone", said he.

The audience cheered,

But some of them cried,

"We just don't understand."

"What changed its' worth?"

Swift came the reply.

"The Touch of the Masters Hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,

All battered and tarnished with sin,

Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd

Much like that old violin.

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,

A game and he travels on.

He is going once, he is going twice,

He is going and almost gone.

But the Master comes,

And the foolish crowd never

can quite understand,

The worth of a soul and the

change that is wrought

By the Touch of the Master's Hand.

May we all be willing to allow the Master to bring forth the very best within us.

Amen.

Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

03-04-2007